Friction drive mechanism



March W3? --A. c. SCHMELZER ,07 ,8

FRICTION DRIVE MECHANISM Filed June 7, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I! I I INVENT'UR HNTUN u- EC'HMIELZER ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates in general to centrifugal clothes rinsing and drying machines adapted to be attached to and driven by domestic washing machines as a substitute for the usual wringer,

and is particularly directed to a new and improved 1 mechanism for centrifugal clothes rinsing and drying machines, which mechanism starts the machine with a high torque and low speed and then gradually accelerates the rotation of the machine to high rotary speed without slippage 1 and wear on the frictionally coupled driving members or danger of overloading and stalling the motor, which drives the machine.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a new and improved driving mechanism 1 for centrifugal clothes rinsing and drying machines embodying friction elements frictionally coupled with each other by a laterally and vertically shiftable coupling means adapted to effect rotation of the clothes basket with a high torque and low speed and a gradual acceleration of the rotation of said basket to high rotary speed and woe versa.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a new and improved driving mechanism for centrifugal clothes rinsing and drying machines embodying cone-shaped rotary friction elements coupled with each other by a laterally and vertically shiftable double cone-shaped friction element mounted for rotation at an angle to said cone-shaped rotary friction elements for edgewise contact therewith, so as to effect variable differential speeds of said cone-shaped rotary friction elements with respect to each other, when said double cone-shaped element is shifted laterally and vertically.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of anew and improved driving mechanism of a simple and sturdy design and compact and light in weight.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combination of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in the appended claims; and a preferred form of embodiment of the invention is hereinafter shown with reference to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional View gg through a clothes rinsing and drying machine embodying the improved driving mechanism according to the invention and showing the arrangement of the drive mechanism driving the rotary basket of the machine, the section being taken on line l--| of Figure 2. 5

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view on line 33 of Figure 2, showing the mounting and the arrangement of the operating means for shifting 10 the double cone-shaped friction element which couples the rotaryfriction members.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional View on line 44 of Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view on line 55 15 of Figure 3.

The centrifugal clothes rinsing and drying machine fragmentarily illustrated in the drawings comprises a centrifuge section A, indicated by dotted lines, and a drive section B. This drive 20 section B embodies a preferably pressed sheet metal housing, comprising a cup-shaped base plate 2 and a recessed top or cover member 3, the downwardly turned peripheral wall 4 of which receives and is bolted to or in any suitable 25 manner secured to the upturned flange 5 of the base plate 2. The top or cover member 3 is carried or supported by legs 6, riveted to the peripheral wall 4 of the cover member 3, as at 1. The base plate 2 rotatably mounts a basket drive shaft 30 8, which shaft extends upwardly through the cover member 3 and carries and is coupled with the clothes basket 9. The lower end of the shaft 8 projects through an opening in a recessed portion Ill in base plate 2 and carries a guard plate 35 ll secured to said shaft by means of a nut l2.

A tube I 4, secured to base plate 2 and partially bolts I9. The shaft 8 carries at its upper end a male adapter 20 adapted to couple the basket with the shaft 8 while supporting said basket.

The variable speed mechanism of the clothes 50 rinsing and drying machine is adapted to be connected to and driven from a conventional wringer-type washing machine, not shown herein, but clearly illustrated and described in my copending applications Serial Number 688,513, filed:

September 7, 1933 and Serial Number 6,866, filed February 16, 1935, therefore no reference to the washing machine, its wringer drive shaft and the coupling of a drive shaft 2| with the wringer 5 drive shaft is deemed necessary. Thus drive shaft 2| extends through and is rotatably supported in the top member 3 of the drive section B, adjacent to one side of the tank 23 of the dryer. The lower end of the drive shaft 2| slidably supports a cone-shaped friction driver 24. To that end the shaft 2| is formed with splines 25, received within corresponding, longitudinally extending grooves 26 in the bore of a bushing 21. This bushing is fixed at its lower end to the friction driver 24 and consequently the bushing and driver have simultaneous sliding movements with respect to the shaft 2|. A coil spring 28, which bears at its upper end against a flanged collar 29, fixed to the shaft by a pin 39, engages the friction driver 24 with its lower end and resiliently forces the driver downwardly against an inter- .mediate double cone-shaped friction wheel 3|. This wheel is rotatably and axially shiftably supported upon a substantially horizontally disposed 25 and vertically shiftably mounted square tubing or rod 32, fixedly connected at its opposite ends to collars 33 and 34, which collars are slidably mounted on a stud shaft 35 and a fixed post 36, rigidly secured to the base plate 2 by nuts 31, 38 respectively. This arrangement permits of the friction wheel 3| being vertically adjusted for a purpose later to be described.

The tubing or rod 32 is held in rest position by the collars 33 and 34, when collar 33 engages with 35 and seats upon a shoulder 39 on the stud shaft 35, and when the elongated sleeve portion of collar 34 engages with and seats upon a washer 40, resting upon the base plate 2 and rigidly secured thereto by means of the nut 38. The sup- 40 porting tubing 32 fully supports the friction wheel 3|, when this wheel is out of contact with a gear and friction wheel 4|, embodying a coneshaped upper face 42, parallel to the cone-shaped friction surface of the friction driver 24, to permit of the wheel 4| to be frictionally coupled with and variably driven by the friction driver 24, when the friction wheel 3| is shifted toward the left. The gear and friction wheel 4| has its peripheral surface provided with teeth 43 and extends through a slot 44 in the wall 45 of the recessed portion I0, to mesh with a gear 46 on the lower end of the basket drive shaft 8. Consequently a rotation of the drive shaft 2| is transmitted over the friction drive to the basket drive shaft 8 and thus to the basket 9.

In order to rotate the basket drive shaft 8 by the friction drive just described it is necessary to shift the friction wheel 3| to the left from its Figure 1 position until the left cone 1| of the wheel 3| contacts the cone-shaped upper face 42 of the wheel 4|. Such shifting of the wheel is effected by swinging the weighted lever arm 41 of a shaft 48 in a clockwise direction, so as to axially shift a slide rod 49, which is coupled with the 5 friction wheel 3|. Thus the slide rod 49 is connected as at 50 with a rackbar drive, embodying a rackbar 5| and a gear 52. The gear 52 is pinned to a short shaft 53, having secured thereto a bevel gear pinion 54, which pinion meshes with a bevel 70 gear 55 on the shaft 48. It will now be seen that rotation of the shaft 48 by lever arm 41 causes rotation of the gear 52 and thereby effects axial shifting of the rackbar 5| and the slide rod 49. Preferably, as shown, the rackbar 5| rests upon and is guided by a flanged roller 51 on a shaft 58. This shaft and the shaft 53 are pivotally mounted in brackets 59, secured to the base plate 2 by means of bolts 60. The slide rod 49 is slidably supported in brackets 6|, 62, secured to the base plate 2 by means of bolts 63, 64 respectively. The slide rod 49 is coupled with the friction wheel 4| by means of a lever 65, pinned to said rod as at 66. This lever engages a channeled member 61 on a U-shaped extension 68 of a guide bushing 69 for the frictional wheel 3|, which bushing 69 slides on the guide tubing or rod 32.

Preferably, as shown, the bracket 62 limits the movement of the rod 49 in opposite directions Thus, when the lever engages the left side of the bracket 62, further movement of the rod 49 toward right is prevented, and when a collar 10 at the end of the rod 49 engages the right side of the bracket 62, then further movement of the rod 49 toward left is arrested. (See Figure 3.)

Now assuming that the basket 9 is in rest position or not rotating, then the collars 33 and 34 seat upon the shoulder 39 and washer 40 respectively and thereby support the tubing or rod 32 in a predetermined position. The friction wheel 3| is at this time out of contact with the upper face 42 of the wheel 4| and therefore cannot transmit the rotatory movement of the friction driver 24 to the basket 9. However, when the friction wheel 3| is shifted toward left by operation of the lever arm 41, all as previously described, then the left cone 1| of the friction wheel 3| contacts with the upper face 42 of the wheel 4| and by frictional engagement with said surface causes rotation of said wheel and of the basket coupled therewith. The rotation of the wheel 4| and consequently that of the basket is low at the beginning of the lateral movement of the friction wheel, but this rotation increases,

while the wheel 3| travels from the inside of the face of the friction driver toward its periphery and from the periphery of the upper face 42 of the wheel 4| toward its central area. The friction wheel 3 I, when shifted laterally moves in an inclined path parallel to the inclination of the upper face 42 of the wheel 4| and the friction face of the cone-shaped friction driver 24. To permit of such movement of the friction wheel 3| the rod or tubing 32 is mounted for vertical movement in the collars 33 and 34, as previously described.

The cone-shaped friction driver 24 and the cone-shaped upper surface of the wheel 4| permit of the use of a friction wheel 3|, embodying a double cone-shaped periphery. This construction materially decreases the frictional wear on the friction wheel and increases the gripping contact of the friction wheel with the friction driver and the upper surface 42 of the wheel 4|.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a frictional driving mechanism a vertical drive shaft, a cone-shaped rotary member axially slidably and non-rotatably coupled with said drive shaft, a second cone-shaped rotary member having its cone-shaped surface arranged parallel to the cone-shaped surface of said first member axially and non-shiftably mounted on a vertical axis laterally offset with respect to said drive shaft, an intermediate rotary axially and vertically freely shiftable double cone-shaped friction element having its one cone contacting with the conical surface of said first member and its second cone contacting with the conical surface of said second member, a vertically shiftable horizontally arranged support slidably mounting said friction element, means for yieldingly forcing said first member and said friction element toward said second member, means for axially shifting said friction element upon its support without interfering with the vertical movement of said support, and means for limiting the vertical downward movement of said support, when said friction element is in a predetermined position with respect to said second member.

2. A frictional driving mechanism as described in claim 1, wherein said means for shifting said friction element axially upon its supporting means consists of a gear and rack'bar mechanism, embodying an axially shiftable rackbar vertically 15 slidably coupled With said friction element to permit of vertical shifting of said friction element and its supporting means with respect to said rackbar.

3. A frictional driving mechanism as described in claim 1, wherein said means for shifting said friction element axially upon its supporting means consists of a gear and rackbar mechanism embodying an axially shiftable rackbar vertically slidably coupled with said friction element to permit of vertical shifting of said friction element and its supporting means with respect to said rackbar, and means for limiting the axial movement of said rackbar.

ANTON C. SCHMELZER. 

